Now that coach Chip Kelly is finally getting to build the Philadelphia Eagles 100 percent his way, all the shocking personnel moves he made in the offseason shouldn't really have come as that much of a surprise.

The same will go for this weekend's NFL Draft, which begins tonight (8 p.m.) and ends Saturday with the final pick of the seventh round.

Throughout the three-day marathon that has been turned into a prime-time, reality TV miniseries by league marketing wizards in response to a ravenous fan base, Kelly will continue to apply his stamp — and his stamp only — to a team that previously had a system of checks and balances in place, perhaps impeding his ability to get the team he wants most on the field.

Regardless of whether Kelly and newly appointed vice president of player of personnel Ed Marynowitz pull the trigger on any of the widely projected trade scenarios in which they vault from the No. 20 position in the first round all the way up to No. 1 or 2 to obtain Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, their execution of the draft will differ from any that have come before.

As Marynowitz explained in a lengthy meeting with reporters last week, Kelly has communicated a specific vision for roster-building that serves as a strict guideline for the personnel staff.

Kelly has set height, weight, speed, strength, wingspan and skill requirements for each position group, and players who don't meet all of them have little chance of having much of a future with this organization for as long as he's in charge.

"It's not to say we're totally going to eliminate a guy if he's outside those parameters," Marynowitz said, "but he better be exceptional in a lot of other areas to take a shot on a guy like that."

For example, last year Kelly made no secret of his admiration for Oregon State wide receiver Brandin Cooks, who despite being only being 5 feet, 10 inches tall, much shorter than what they normally seek, would have fit into Kelly's plans nicely. Unfortunately for Kelly, Cooks was already off the board by the time the Eagles were due to pick in the first round.

But for the most part, Kelly is not willing to make exceptions in his quest for tall receivers, cornerbacks and linebackers, beefy, two-gap nose tackles, one-cut running backs and light-footed, versatile offensive linemen, among others, with quality character.

Their system also requires their safeties to be interchangeable, their wide receivers and backs to be more than just willing blockers and their corners to be able to play press coverage, often with no help over the top.

On top of all that, they have to buy in.

Totally.

If that sounds extreme, it's because it is.

So it came as no surprise that as of last week, Kelly and Co. had already pared a master board that features thousands of draft-eligible athletes down to around 150. And they hadn't even begun to separate the poor-character types for elimination. That process, Marynowitz promised, would be completed in the days leading up to tonight's first round.

Their requirements raise questions about whether even some of the perceived top players in the draft would be right for them.

For instance, Alabama safety Landon Collins, the consensus top player at his position group, might not be considered by the Eagles because of his limited coverage ability. Collins is exceptional in all other areas, however, so it's difficult to say. But he's definitely not considered the prototype for them.

"Chip has done a great job of supplying the vision to the entire organization, to the coaching staff and the personnel department, of what he's looking for in order to build a football team," Marynowitz said. "So whether it's at any type of position, he's going to give us the parameters, give us the prototypes, clearly communicate what he's looking for, and it's our responsibility to find those players."

Marynowitz views this particular draft class like many others: rich with receivers and running backs and adequately supplied with enough offensive and defensive linemen and defensive backs to help.

Because of that and the personnel losses they've had, it would be no surprise if they are active in all these areas this weekend.

Everything about how the Eagles will operate this year is new. Marynowitz even said last week that the logistics for how the draft room is set up and who works the phones and the like were still being worked out.

Whether there's any kind of role for former general manager Howie Roseman, now the executive vice president of football operations, who ran the first two drafts of Kelly's reign, is unclear. It's possible he could be used to negotiate trades. But he has not been involved in setting up this year's board since the power structure was restructured by owner Jeffrey Lurie in January to give Kelly complete control.

That said, it's interesting to note that the Eagles' draft philosophy remains essentially the same as far as going for the best available athlete every time. There was one qualifier Marynowitz wanted to make clear, however: The phrase "for us."

Those words are anything but subtle in this case, and suggest that it wasn't always that way in the past.

"Our philosophy is the best player available for us, not just the best player available for the league," he said. "We grade and we set our board for the Eagles, so it's according to our height, weight, speed parameters. It's how they fit in our system and how they compare to our roster. So it is the best player available, but it's the best player available for us."

Kelly and Marynowitz view this draft like most others: that there probably only are 10 or so true difference-makers available, so a trade up is something they're likely to do regardless of whether they're eliminated from the Mariota sweepstakes early.

If they can't go up, it's reasonable to predict they'll try moving down, since they probably feel they can get the same quality at 30 (or lower) as 20.

Areas thought to be of biggest immediate need for the Eagles are wide receiver, secondary and offensive line. But they also can use pass rushers, which no team can ever have too much of in any season.

Because Kelly is running things without interference now, fans are advised to brace for anything and everything.